SPOTLIGHT BIO: Greg Triggs

He's performed his way around the world. He's improvised his way up the east coast. He's the guy keeps Broadway's Next H!T Musical a flowing mess of comedy.

And here's your host, Greg Triggs!

As the host, you bring a mixture of stand up and improv to the show. What do you look forward to at each performance?

Improv groups get stale when the members stop surprising each other. I cannot imagine that happening with this cast. There's always something to look forward to ... the stand up, the scene work, the music, the audience. There's always something fun going on.

How long have you been singing/improvising?Since before the Internet.

I first started improvising in college and the minute I did I stopped thinking about any other kind of performance. I knew I was an improviser. Singing is trickier ... to me it has always been a means to an end. That I've been paid over the years to sing kind of cracks me up. How did that happen?

How did you become a part of BNHM?I was originally brought in as an understudy. I had one rehearsal ... that was kind of casual and low-key. Then, because comics are always so stable everything fell apart. A cast member was going through some hard times, left the show and I was on. I've been the host ever since.

When you aren't found at the Phony Awards, where might you be out in the city?Out of town probably. I travel a lot for work. In the last six months I've been to Doha, Hawaii, Germany, Amsterdam, the Canary Islands, the Bahamas, Florida, Tortolla, St. Maarten and Jersey.

My boyfriend and I live in Harlem so when I'm in town we really enjoy exploring the neighborhood. We're close to our neighbors so we'll either be on the roof with them
checking out new restaurants ... or sitting on the couch watching bad television. We're non-threatening middle class homos.

What sets this show apart from any other improvised show you have been a part of?Our show is an amazing blend of stand-up, short form and long form improv. I've never been in a show that funnels everything into one collective point of view

so well. It's got the award/celebrity/parody aspects, which is really fun to play with. The music is incredible and always changing. Everyone once in a while I pinch myself. When I was a kid in WI I dreamed of doing a show in New York City and here I am working with the best improvisers in Manhattan. Incredible.

What is your most memorable moment in improv?

When I first started improvising I lived in Minneapolis I was poorer than poor. I would have qualified for food stamps but I couldn't afford the bus fare to apply. Of course my car broke down. When it did I pulled into a service station on Hennepin Avenue. The mechanic came over and said, "I am suddenly aware of every atom in my body." I didn't get it so I started explaining what was wrong with the car. He repeated himself. "I am suddenly aware of every atom in my body." I stared at him blankly. He said, "You don't remember saying that? My wife and I saw you in a show last week. You said, "I am aware of every atom in my body. We thought it was hilarious. We've been saying it to each other ever since." He fixed my car for free, which was awesome ... but the real gift was discovering that you never know how your work is going to affect an audience ... that sometimes when you're hitting hard people remember what you do.

What was your first gig in musical improv?Dudley Riggs Brave New Workshop in Minneapolis, MN. Best training ever. I am still friends with the people in my improv class. We're doing a reunion show in the Twin Cities Improv Festival this summer. The Brave New Workshop was the first improv group I ever saw and I KNEW I would work with them someday. I did. Disney saw me in a show. Offered me a job. Luckiest break ever. It took me from Minneapolis to the Next Big Broadway Musical!